tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81576186018921750462024-03-28T23:18:21.100+00:00Shafee's ThoughtsShafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-83062522601853878472024-03-22T05:50:00.001+00:002024-03-22T05:50:18.279+00:00The Lords Prayer<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 28px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When the Huwayiroon</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1</span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17px; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">asked Nabi Isa (as), Jesus the son of Mary *2, for a prayer he gave them what is known as the Lords Prayer:</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><<Our Lord who art in Heaven </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Hallowed be thy name </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Thy kingdom come,</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Thy will be done,</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">On Earth as it is Heaven. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">….>></span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is said that this prayer unites the Christian World. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then some 600 years later, Muhammed (saw) was given Al-Fathihah- a prayer that known as the opening, the bringer of success, the seven oft repeated, and The Mother of the Book (Umm ul Kitab). </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Al Fathihah starts with a verse so phenomenal that it is sufficient for you to stand in awe of the Most Merciful, whose Mercy is so powerful that it cannot be thwarted nor diminished. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This Friday, and then for the rest of your life, when you stand in prayer contemplate the meaning of this prayer. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Find the reading (meaning) within it that is the answer to the prayer of Nabi Isa. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Search for and find the reading (meaning) with the connectives between each verse that reveals it power. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then let that be for you a daily source of immense happiness, a daily source of both guidance and instruction. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we are the successors, and inheritors of the Kingdom of God on Earth. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this religion of ours is God’s very own religion *3. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But do not become like those that believe that they are blessed, and then oppress the people, for indeed God hates the oppressors. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nor like those who believe that they are blessed and stray, inventing things in the religion for which there is no basis. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The true religion is simple. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And do not complicate it, thinking that in doing so it brings you closer, for it only drives you, and others, further away. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And right action stands out clear from error. *4</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*May you be blessed with a lifetime of contemplation* </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is through study and contemplation, not lectures, nor this ostensibly above. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 the disciples, who when Isa (as) asked who will be the helpers for God, said “we will be the helpers of God”. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 Nabi Isa (as) called himself alternatively the son of man, and the son of David.</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the first instance emphasising his human nature. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> In the second instance ruling himself out from being the Lord of David, the one foretold to come from out of the Dessert. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 endorsed and established by Him. From the time of Ibrahim (as), He had called us Muslims (last verse of Surah Hajj), and every Prophet and Messenger that He sent was Muslim. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 follows from the greatest verse of the Quran. Ayah tul Kursi. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-39585110275794799652024-03-03T21:42:00.001+00:002024-03-06T07:02:45.078+00:00The Cosmic Choice<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When you think deeply about the true religion you see how clearly it mirrors the cosmos and the Sunnah of Allah (the ways and methods of God) that we can see evident within it. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_ab30_f76a_e41b_34b3" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/19j7y-EXBLV4PULGOUNYXJTbWq0-XFYnM" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For Allah is al-Batin, the One who wishes to remain hidden, Az-Zahir, the clearly evident One. And so He appointed the Angels as Messengers of His will, sent heavenly books to challenge us to intelligence, and to wake us to reality, in the hands of Prophets (*1) to give us better examples of living. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That He wishes to remain hidden, and for us to believe in Him not because of any authority sent down, but because of the vast intricacies and care that surrounds not just us, but absolutely everything. This extends not just to those things we can see, but even to those things that we have yet to find and discover. His care and sustenance is the one fact that no one can doubt. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So that even when He sends a true Prophet and Messenger to the people, He raises amongst them his enemy. *2</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So that the people have a ready choice. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so belief is never such an easy thing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That He wants for you to choose belief over disbelief and does not compel you to it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So it is with His speech, that for some it only misguides them because they have no faith, no honesty and no truth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And even with those that He wishes to do good to, because they do good to others, even for them He only makes clear the choice and opens up the opportunity. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And He leaves the choice to you. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now look at His religion. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How our Imams are not titles, but positions that we fulfil. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we have no priesthood with whom no authority lies, save only a religion perfectly open to all. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Look at the Quran, revealed in simple Arabic that it might instruct. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For here you do not need to look at the origin of each word in order to find the meaning. But solely to contemplate and deliberate upon the context. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For unlike any other language Arabic has remained unchanged and evolved down through the centuries *3. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So when an Imam shows you that he is well versed in the Arabic tongue as a means of impressing upon you his qualification, you should know that he follows not the Sunnah of the Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For the Message needs no authority, it’s truth should be free to ring true to you without encumbrance from one who claims authority. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is replete with meaning just waiting to find expression within each and everyone of you, who would deliberate and contemplate. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">*How beautiful God’s religion that remains free for you to choose.*</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and deliberation, not this above, nor lectures and talks. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 a Prophet that received a Book attains the stature of a Messenger. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And we send our salutations and peace upon them all. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 so a verse of the Quran informed our noble Messenger, Muhammed (saw) about this Sunnah of God. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 here I am not taking about the different dialects of Arabic, but MSA - Modern Standard Arabic. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Try reading Chaucer which is only a hundred or so old and then compare it to Tabari which is a thousand plus years old. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-28199043441535740092024-01-25T07:56:00.001+00:002024-01-25T12:11:54.235+00:00A letter to Brian Cox and all Physicists <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In most Muslim religious circles, though they are unaware of it, a Popperian view of the Natural Sciences holds sway. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_8d87_2c5a_10ca_ae8f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1fNzz0ULRg_8plQ8VspGb1S_Y8vyVPTXl" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There, Karl Popper, a mid 20th Century Philosopher, argued that Science is in the job of falsifying theories, and thus that there is nothing sure or certain about it. </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This was later bolstered by Thomas Kuhn who empirically showed that Science can be seen as a social enterprise that progresses through seismic shifts in understanding that he likened to revolutions. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But whilst Kuhn took a realist and sociological view of the job of science, Popper’s was fully dogmatic. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Too many people erroneously compounded those two separate ideas, believing that they each corroborated one another. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But whilst Kuhn showed that Scientific progress is a social enterprise and this dented the view of Scientists being solely in the business of truth discovery, it did not endorse the opposing view of Scientists being in the business of falsifying theories. *1(a & b)</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then when we come across verse 53 of Surah Fussilat and we are confronted with; </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“We will show them our signs..” in the outer reaches and within themselves; </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">we are forced to deliberate as to whether the “them” mentioned here is as a collective many, or as a collection of many individuals?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the language of science - is it observable and repeatable, as in the collective many, or is it like a “revelationary showing” that is only accessible to those who are brought close, but as individuals only. These cannot share what they know, because it is not accessible to the vast many. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then when we also come across verse 2 of Surah Raad, Thunder, we should be in awe of its clarity. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Surah Raad sits between Yusuf and Ibrahim, and when you read it you should realise that it is talking about our Messenger, who is a Messenger to us all and to those that will come after us. (All of the peoples *3). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Verse 2 here, talks directly to our current cosmological understanding of the Universe, but with such clarity that it is as if God is here showing us His signs first hand:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><Allah it is who raised the Heavens without any support that you can see,</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then afterwards He ascended the Throne.></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When you compare the ‘Arsh with the Kursi mentioned in greatest verse contained in Surah Baqara, one is translated as throne and the other as seat. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Even in the English idiom we know the difference, vis a vis ..</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Throne of Authority” and “Seat of Knowledge”, look now again at Ayah tul Kursi to see this for yourself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then ask yourself what happens on Thrones?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Edicts are issued and Laws are enacted. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So here Allah t’ala is informing us that it is He who expanded the whole Cosmos and then rose on His Throne of Authority and established the Laws of Creation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><And then that He subjected the Sun and the Moon> to those Laws. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Arabic is unusual as a language because <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>it’s words take forms that designate so much from subject to object to indirect object, from male to female, from singular to many to even two. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The next word here is outstanding, because Allah t’ala does not refer to the Sun and Moon and say “both of them” (as most translators of its meaning hold), but simply “all” as a singular subject, and not even “all things” (kuli shay), nor even “all of them” (kuli huma). *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Here the All is not made definite by the inclusion of a preceding Al- (the definite article in Arabic) nor by a following noun or pronoun, but is in the indefinite subject form… meaning ALL- EVERYTHING- and as the subject of that speech. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Most Mufasir miss this and translate the Kulli here as both of them, when the word is clearly ..</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><ALL run in their course for an appointed time. ></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And everything when you think about it in cosmological terms is either a satellite like the moon, or a star like the sun. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But here it is clear that Allah t’ala is talking about the Whole Cosmos, and not just everything contained within it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And in particular, in relation to our cosmological understanding this would explain those words in that place. That Allah t’ala here is telling us that He is the One that set everything in motion, established laws to govern those motions, and all of them are subjected to those .. running their course for an appointed time. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now look out of your window and consider how much movement can you see?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In this verse God is saying that everything is in motion. *5</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><And He regulates all actions and makes clear (or decisive) to you (plural form) the signs that you might know of the meeting.></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The last portion of this verse above, refers to itself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">God says We make clear to you, meaning to us here in this age of men, the truth of this verse so that you might also know of the truth of the promised meeting. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is a direct message without any ambiguity. And that ambiguity has only fallen away in this age of men, and it is clear as daylight to all of us with a care for a rudimentary understanding of the current state of cosmology. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That the promised meeting is a sure reality. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So blessed are those that prepare for it, and unblessed are the heedless. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is through study and contemplation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Not lectures, nor this above. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1a</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is the job of theorists to put forward theories that are falsifiable, and that therefore lend to the construction of experiments. It is the offshoot of these experiments that is the engine for technological advancement. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1b</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Can it really be said that Newtonian dynamics has been supplanted by Einstein’s relativistic universe?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Or is it better to consider that they each hold explanatory power within each their respective remits?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when they do, then they risk humiliation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 see the end of v7 of Raad. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 As one of my good friends who is an Arab has it that it means “Each of Them” without a restriction to the two, informing us that there are more. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 I read a quote recently that Jafar bin Abi Talib (ra) had said as much, and held this as a certain conviction, maybe having understood or deliberated on this verse or a similar verse. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-90771490402858627032023-12-27T09:55:00.001+00:002024-01-25T23:12:06.751+00:00Dessert Island Discs- My Choice<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If you were stranded, alone and on a dessert island with little to no hope of rescue, would you be concerned with questions of what is moral, and what not?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_ec65_e192_985f_c133" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1WRIfhEIINyknyY8MeiFK9AkzhnUV38QW" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">More pertinent to the question that I want to bring to your attention, "if you had never known the society of men, would you ever have the capacity to know what is moral and what is not?"</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Succinctly, "Is morality a social construct?"</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the first case having known the society of men, you would have been versed in that type of morality which is a social construct and could therefore choose to ignore it, by virtue of your having known it. So your choice of ignoring it, is part answer to the question that I posed above. For choosing to ignore it, is proof enough that you had, even if ever so remotely, considered it.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the second case, each person is born to this World, weak, vulnerable and alone, without exception. And if it is not the society of men that is to raise them to maturity then it must be another society or agency that must perform the same duty. And all societies, and agencies, harbour within them order, and order is maintained by rules of acceptable behaviour and sanction for breaches. It is these rules of behaviour that many consider to be moral.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But what is most tantalising in the whole deliberation is the persistence of the question of morality. That it is the kernel about which so much turns. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That people in general want to lead a moral life, and by this they do not understand that which is socially acceptable, but that which is virtuous.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So many treatises have been written about this from Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" to the famous Greek Philosophers and their works, and indeed it the central theme of the whole of Philosophy- "what is the best way to live life?"</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is God's speech which, first off, directly answers this defining, very human, need and dilemma with in the first instance a method that points to each our aspiritations-</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“For this is the book. Without doubt a guide to the Muttaqqun.”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Before following it with a sure method. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We do not get to the defining verses of who the Muttaqun are until much later at verse 177:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is not righteousness the you turn your (plural) faces to the East and the West. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is this not a clear indictment of socially constructed morality?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Notice the plural possessive form of “your”, which symbolises a collective decision. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then the conjunction between East and West, here it is not said East or West. East and West looks again like a procedural form without any basis, that you cannot choose or have no compass through which to choose your direction. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So it is as if here the one being addressed is the one seeking a virtuous, moral and upright life and they are being told that do not follow these man made conventions that will have you turning this way and then that way, rather …</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The virtuous one is the one who believes in Allah, in the Day to come, in the Angels and the verse continues and ends with </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">These are the Muttaqun. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Belief is first profession and then action. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the Quran is our guide. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. Not lectures, nor this above. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-30523811128002912652023-12-17T17:09:00.001+00:002024-01-29T20:24:26.217+00:00The Persistence of Errors <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Errors permeate the story of humanity. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">From Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, to the many miscarriages of justice that destroy peoples’ lives. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_2446_608c_7f6_f712" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1TXOg3E7-nDv9sW6pVPGMyTXmUaZAaiSA" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And thus a thoughtful understanding of the nature of errors is something that everyone should undertake. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For whilst we might think that errors occur randomly on every timeline, when we examine them then we would realise that their occurrence <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>rather than occasioning us to reign in actually makes it more likely than not to cause yet more errors. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">These are of two types </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- Compounding errors, which occur when we do not hold ourselves to a higher account, as in when we allow our allegiance to a “family” to determine our outlook and our choice of ignorance, over scrutiny. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- Concomitant errors. These occur when our attention to all other factors waivers in the anxious search for the cause of the first. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The first type of error is the more pernicious, causing the greater harm because we are unwilling to cast aspersions against those on whose loyalty we likewise rely, just as they rely on us. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The worst of these occur behind a black impenetrable box of obfuscation and obscuration that is our Criminal Justice System, where no one except the most foolhardy can call our Police to question. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For it is clear to many of our public that they rather than keeping the Law are above it, and furthermore are above common human decency, and the moral behaviour of what we should expect from our model citizens. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The second type of concomitant errors occur when our mind’s eye is distracted in the anxious search to avoid the first, and we fall prey to yet another. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Worryingly when we “find” the source of the first error, even when it is not the real cause, this second type of error diminishes giving us the wrongful impression that our presumption was correct. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In normal life the impact of concomitant errors may be small. But in policing the impact of this confirmation bias can be devastating. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When both types come together we have what happens most of the time within our Criminal Justice System:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A Police Force that reigns in its investigation in order to secure a conviction. Solicitors and Judges that do not demand any proofs but rely on sentiment as judge, jury and executioner. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then a Police Force that rewards itself for securing a conviction no matter how convenient, or flawed. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And a society that continues to think that the mantra “hard on crime” rings true, whilst pumping more money into a failed concept of Policing does nothing except increase crime, whilst securing yet more unsafe convictions. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Like occurrences do also happen within our Medical Fraternity, but at the very least there each Clinician is at pains to take their each own patient histories, and draw each their own salient points from that. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But once a treatment regime begins then these types of errors do still occur the more, and confirmation bias rules. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">These errors compound within our institutions, and are natural within them unless they each make conscious efforts to avoid them. And every institution is made up of people, just like you and me. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The problem is the more insidious when human prejudice is added into the mixture, for then once the “culprit” is found confirmation bias proves their “guilt” irrespective of evidence, sometimes missing but more often then not just simply ignored. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The first type can be solved by us each holding ourselves to a higher account, and not allowing ourselves to be cowed by the flavour of the day or other peoples sentiments. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The second when we recognise that errors will occur, and then take them in our stride and do not cast around for blame. “Yes it has happened, but let that not stop us part stride”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">*1 How can a person be convicted of the heinous crime of murder based upon purely circumstantial evidence. To me this irks full of errors that the CJS plainly encourages. <span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-84757129679973895562023-12-13T14:30:00.001+00:002024-02-16T10:47:32.750+00:00Modus Operandi <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The modus operandi of the Christian is to evangelise. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_22f1_205a_8e7_b289" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ieg_nqZbIk8EyB0xspIGYrjGAa9O1DHI" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But the Muslim knows that it is God, the Most Gracious, that guides whom He will. And God, the Most Gracious, who favours whom He will with true belief. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when he reads the story of Musa (as) in his book, he realises that his first mission was not to be a Messenger to the Children of Israel. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The fire on the mountain top was a beacon that drew him close and brought him near. And then God spoke with him. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And sent him onward to Pharaoh. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That his first mission was to confront Pharoah’s tyranny with kind, and wise, words. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And indeed even before that, in the same conversation, we learn that God regarded him as an enemy and placed Musa (as) within his household for that very reason. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So for the Muslim from the portent of each and every story of every Messenger that the Most Gracious sent to mankind, he knows his duty, his calling and his end. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we are to confront tyranny and oppression in all its forms. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">From the Political Hypocrisy of the Western Nations, that brands whole people as being undeserved of justice and peace. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To their disfigured morality which equates every discernment with discrimination. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To the oppression of their own people by their taxing the poor to give to the rich. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To their Criminal Justice System hell bent on destroying people’s souls, and the Nations’ families. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That belief in the Most Merciful God comes after we have freed people from the fetters of one tyrannising another. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Where they are both the losers. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And once free who cannot recognise that a universal and true justice amongst all Nations, that a morality based upon man’s natural order, that a just society can only be conceived and maintained with a true and complete submission to the Lord, Sustainer of all of the Worlds. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is our Islam. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. Not lectures and talks. Nor this above. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 read the discourse in S Taha </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Musa (as) is here commanded first to worship Allah t’ala and then go to Pharoah. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-31683851543968545022023-12-10T00:40:00.001+00:002023-12-10T00:40:58.927+00:00Not Forgot<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I hope I’m not of those, so soon forgot</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What would let me know that I’m not?</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Not forgot </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For what I have given </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">My heart bleeds, and is shriven</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The feeling is raw. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And yet it keeps giving more. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For hope never dies </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When belief is by its side </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this anxiety </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is but a prelude for certainty</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The certainty of what </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is that which galls me to know. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The self made vulnerable man, </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">who calls to prayer </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the depths of the cold lonely dessert. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For that is my part I shall never forget </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The warm friendship kindled within me</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The medley smiles, and the banter of a friendship that will never meant to rot </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That day I asked you for eternity </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But never would I have ventured </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What then didst enfold. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A trial of mammoth proportions </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Separation and heartaches</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But never any doubt </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">My heart crashes a thousand times </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Would I venture that again?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If it proves my truth, </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And yours too, to boot. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then I would, </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Most definitely would. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">again and again. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-20299175484807844242023-11-25T18:00:00.003+00:002024-01-29T20:12:54.709+00:00The In-Between<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In God’s speech we find the Arabic word “ayah” simultaneously used to mean the signs that point to the Most Gracious within the Cosmos, and then also the constituent verses of the Speech itself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_77e1_6efb_f84a_152f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1tlHawOAAZJ2OKfacGSS3nUG58L-lnmvf" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed when the Messenger (saw) recited the Qur’an it is said that he paused after each Ayah. That the Qur’an therefore is a collection of signs, much like the Cosmos itself. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In Surah Rahman, like many other Surahs, God draws our attention to the Cosmos and our place within it. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is as if a similitude is being drawn for us between it and the Quran. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Ar-Rahman”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Most Merciful. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Quraysh complained that there was no such word, because they rightly thought that the true nature of Mercy is weakness, and that Ar-Rahman makes something strong out of something which is essentially weak. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that was precisely the point. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That this nature of God, is unlike anything else. That His Mercy here is powerful. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed if anyone of us, including the greatest king *2, is merciful to someone then that mercy can easily be thwarted by another with malicious intent. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That our mercy cannot guarantee anything because of its essentially weak character. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But God’s true Mercy, here, can never be thwarted. That is the Mercy of Ar-Rahman. It is powerful and all encompassing and can never be thwarted, nor eclipsed. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“taught the Quran”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is a phenomenal verse that follows on from drawing our attention to God’s powerful mercy. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Referencing the powerful ongoing miracle of the Quran -this I had explained on a recent Instagram video- constantly collected within the hearts of the believers, and explained by God when those that deliberate think deeply *3. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But the deep thought here has much to do with the unfolding similitude. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Created Mankind”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the defining characteristic of our nature that is being drawn to us here is…</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“He taught clear intelligible speech”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Follows then the verses that draw our attention to the Cosmos. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed the Cosmos is marked by great distances of void. And it is in the spaces of our speech that meaning exists. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What is it that causes the stars and the trees to bow in humility?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*************think deeply about this before reading further*************</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And even as God expands the Heavens exerts a break and pulls them back. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And Cosmologists know that the gravitational constant is too precise. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That an infinitesimal movement either way means the non-existence of existence itself. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is a power that exerts within the great voids of space. *5</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed Physicists now know that reality is mostly space. Even my hand, and this screen that I write on is also mostly space. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed it is the power that exists within even those minuscule space that is the most telling. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that too is the miracle of the Quran. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is the meaning that exists within and more importantly between the verses that is the most telling. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For that is where its power lies. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the connections between the verses, and at times within a single verse, and what is ostensibly left unsaid, but is implied. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. Not lectures, nor talks, nor this above. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 When we do that, and follow his example, then something extraordinary happens. See for example the layers of depth of meaning that can be found in Al-Fathihah, the opener and the mother of the book. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 that even the greatest king is subject to convention, and the vagaries of heresay. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 This dilemma they call *The Cosmological Problem*. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 it is likewise the same force that makes the Moon punctual. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">See Pickthall translation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 not that is by ruminating on the intricacies of the Arabic language, for the Quran was relayed in simple Arabic to make it easy for the people. But rather it is in the spaces of what is left unsaid that it’s power lies. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-51231792668735559742023-11-06T13:18:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:51:44.492+00:00The Ants<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In Surah Naml we find the speech of the ants and of the hoopoe bird, both mentioned, and juxtaposed. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_b250_cf3c_2158_20a0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1BmXFbZpKFhfIUmPxBfEY2NnUfCKPjvNO" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Surah is itself surrounded by The Poets on one side and Stories on the other, and they are all three clearly related because of their beginning letters. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We are presented with the speech of the ant, who says, <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Oh you ants, get into your dwellings lest the army of Solomon tramples you unknowingly. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This sentence reveals a subject - predicate structure. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That the ant is conscious of itself, the other ants and their surroundings, first from looking at the Arabic*1, and then when we deliberate on it, from the ant recognising a threat to himself and then to his fellow ants. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The story of the speech of the hoopoe bird is even more intriguing. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Here we have an exchange between King Solomon (as) and the bird. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whereas with the ant Suleiman (as) “heard” the speech and simply smiled in gratitude and responded with humility. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The hoopoe spies a land where the people do not worship the Most Gracious and this shocks him, so he goes to investigate further. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When he returns to the army of Suleman (as), he is scolded and warned that if he has lied then he would have a severe punishment. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is intriguing on two points-</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- since Nabi Suleman (as) insinuated that the hoopoe might be lying, we must believe that it had the capacity to lie. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But lying as an act only occurs when we have either something to lose in order to prevent its loss, or something to gain in order to effect its gain. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This suggests that the hoopoe owns or possesses something, or can own or possess something and therefore does. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When you see a lion in its natural habitat, then you notice how slow it is to act and aggression. And you realise that it is it’s pride, and status, that make it so slow to wake. But once woken then it is a force to contend with. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If you take a look at the hoopoe, it by design of the Most Gracious is made to wear a crown on its head. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In the animal kingdom in general the male of a species looks the more beautiful and startling*2, </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But with the hoopoe, both the male and female wear that distinctive crown. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So it is as if here the hoopoe possess at the very least pride, and that by God’s Grace. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Contrasting this with the speech of the ant is intriguing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For when we consider how bees communicate the direction in which to fly to gather nectar *3, it is clear that their language is laborious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So in a like manner we would expect the same of the ant, but even with the time consuming nature of his communication his own safety is of little concern to him, but what is of more concern are the fellows in his community. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So the ant is selfless in contrast to the hoopoe. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is as God here is evidencing to us the sheer variety of His creation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- We know that the hoopoe recognised the Most Gracious, and would then have known thus that Suleman (as) was His true prophet. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So how can we reconcile the statement of Suleman (as) when he accused him of potentially lying?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Once again with the Quranic speech we need regard for context. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The hoopoe was part of Suleman’s (as) army. When he returned is when the speech between them occurs. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">However when Suleman (as) noted his absence it would have been when the ranks of his army were arraigned. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so his absence would have been noted by everyone in that army of Men, Jinn and birds. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is why the speech then must have occurred in the presence of the army, for the hoopoe to give an account of himself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For the fundamental defining characteristic of all armies is discipline. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And moreover within his army are the generally rebellious Jinn, who are moreover very sensitive. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed the Most Gracious is sustainer off all of these Worlds and maintains them in harmony with one another, no one eclipsing the other.</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Alhamdolillah. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed knowledge is sought through contemplation and study. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nor speeches, nor this above. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 Arabic grammar differentiates between subject, object and indirect object by the vowel sounding off its last consonant letter. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 consider simply peacocks and peahens. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 known as the bee dance. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-40731170938006602232023-11-02T08:52:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:50:22.240+00:00For that Son will Shine the Brightest<div><br></div><div><img id="id_5d75_689f_bbc4_99bf" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1W8zDjI_BwF7YZZFUBkxc0a6Gd4Bl1N1J" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></div>Blessed. <br><div>My errors only reveal my sincerity. </div><div>Alhamdolillah </div>Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-51029021861911314442023-09-26T21:01:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:49:35.807+00:00More Information<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It’s counterintuitive to think that the more information that is present within a string of symbols*1, the less meaning it carries. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_bcc7_1c2_466e_aebb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1mbG1gWfD_Ij0IrxcsLFaXKd88hyHY3go" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is why Allah t’ala finely balances them within His Speech and refers to them both in V7 of Al-Imran. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we take instruction from that which is clear, and these the Most Gracious calls the mother of the book, and only those endowed with understanding they say “All of it is from Allah”, and they seek the meaning within it. And they do this with regards to the instructions carried within it, and then they deliberate and struggle with those things that He puts there for you to struggle with. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Because it is in the struggle that the meaning exists. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Most people would say the opposite: that information conveys meaning and therefore the more information that is present will naturally make you think that it would carry more meaning. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Consider simply:</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- The boy sat on the wall. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- The green eyed boy sat on the red brick wall. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is there really more meaning contained within proposition 2 than 1?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There is clearly more information. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then, consider </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">3- The scared boy sat on the silent wall. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Clearly proposition 3 has more meaning, but also less proportionate information because it opens up more questions to us, when compared to Proposition 2. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And both proposition 2 and 3 would appear to have the same amount of information. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed in proposition 3 our brains scream out for more information and suddenly entertain many possibilities. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We suddenly consider scenarios that could “explain” the information, and are eager for it to be explained. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But because of the lack of information that we desire, proportionally 3 contains less information than either 1 or 2. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whereas in 1 and 2 we have complete information and feel a measure of satisfaction, in 3 there is no satisfaction, but there is plenty more meaning. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed when we say “Shafi means …” such and such, that statement only makes sense when we are clearing up ambiguity. So therefore meaning is intractably linked to ambiguity and not information, for “meaning” only has meaning within that context. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When it is self evident what I mean, then the word meaning losses it’s meaning within that context. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when we talk about “the meaning of life” what we really mean is that we are searching for a reason, and a purpose. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Once again it is the ambiguity as to that reason , and purpose of our lives, that gives “the search for meaning” it’s meaning within this context. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Very often the Muhaddith way of addressing v7 of Al-Imran is to completely airbrush out of existence the “wa” of conjunction:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And none knows it’s meaning (taw’il) *3 except Allah, *and* those who are deeply rooted in knowledge, they say “we believe in it, and all it is from Allah”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That this statement includes the conjunction “and” that precedes it, is a problem for them because when they remove it from their discourses and their tafseers they fall outside of the category of those that are mentioned within that same verse: “those deeply rooted in knowledge”. This because they ignore the conjunction of ‘wa’. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Because the Muhaddith way is that they do not want you to think and deliberate. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The basis of their knowledge is justification and not speculation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For whilst the religion has been made clear, the upward paths beyond that are fraught with trials and tribulations. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Interpretations and yes, speculation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Because interpretation is speculative in essence. It requires for you to consider more than one possible way of reading and understanding it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then the Most Gracious finishes the <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>verse with ..</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“And none considers this (contemplates this) except the doors (to understanding)”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So here the Most Gracious is recommending for you to contemplate it, and deliberate on His words… all of them and not just the former portion that refers to those that follow only the allegorical and leave off from the Mother of the Book. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Within this schematic of information and meaning, where then does knowledge fit?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Traditionally knowledge is said to be joined up information, that is that knowledge is gained from “knowing” the interconnectedness between things. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But within this schematic*5 it takes on a completely different hue. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">You can say that you have knowledge when you “know” how to act, and this only becomes apparent when you do act. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For knowledge should bring clarity, and clarity is a pre-requisite to cogent- that is wilful and deliberate- action. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And once you know how to act, then how can not fail to act?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We can see this clearly in verse 7…</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“And they say: “We believe in it; the whole of it is from our Lord”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is not the greatest of actions the Kalimah Shahadah?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That our first fundamental action is the testimony of faith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed when the purpose of your life becomes clearer to you then you would recognise that our great forbears, the renowned Companions of the Messenger (saw), as they grew closer to the Most Gracious realised the necessity of action even more. That closeness makes of you a man with a mission to accomplish. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And I bear witness that none is worthy of worship and sincere devotion save Allah, without partner or helper, and that Muhammad (saw) is His servant and Messenger who fulfilled His trust and delivered His message in truth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">May I be a door for you to become of those brought close. Aameen. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. Not lectures, nor this above. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 whether these be verbal, or written, the same is true for both. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 So for example if he’s scared why is he sitting in plain sight on the wall?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Could it possibly be happening at night?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But then why isn’t he cowering under a blanket like most boys when the nightmares are upon them?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 sometimes also translated as explanation which is only another word for meaning. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 So think deeply and do not be of those shallow thinkers who worry about authenticity, and forget that Allah t’ala Himself has said that He would protect His religion. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 where meaning is defined as an active principle in how and when it is used in our discourses. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-76383082755778051912023-08-23T12:42:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:49:01.625+00:00A Person of Paradise<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">*A Person of Paradise”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A man came to the Messenger (saw) within the Polity of Medina and asked if he performed all of his fardh prayers would he be entered into Heaven.</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Messenger (saw) simply replied yes. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The man then said that I will do the fardh and not less than it, nor any more than that, and promptly left. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As he walked away the Messenger (saw) said of him, to the companions that were present, that that man was a man of Jannah (Heaven). </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><img id="id_87f9_64c9_308e_86eb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Y4wIWl2INH2WYQrkVu3j2gB9D7Olsx66" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The scholars have explained this by saying that what the Messenger (saw) meant by this was that the man would be a man of Jannah if he fulfilled what he had said he would fulfil. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But this is a stretch of imagination, by them, for one who was sent to make things clear. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So let us revisit this without the encumbrances of our scholars. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The statement of the Messenger (saw) that he was a man of Jannah was a statement of fact. Because he delivered it as a fact. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now he must have told his companions this fact in order to teach them some fundamental lesson. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When you appreciate that then you cannot think that the lesson he wished to impart was one of ifs and buts. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Please allow a moment to go over my argument above before proceeding further. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So if the Messenger (saw) was not making reference to a conditional appreciation of the man’s claim, he must have been referring to something else. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The only other thing that would have been apparent to him and his companions was not the future likelihood of his fulfilling the ask, but of some innate quality that the man had, that guaranteed him paradise. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So we are forced to consider his quality. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The options that are given by the limited exchange are few, and that is what makes this such an important deliberation, and then lesson. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- his resolve. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For just as Musa (as) said I am the first of believers, but then when he asked the Most Gracious if he was the most knowledgeable was shown Khidr (as). </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Just as the believers made the pact under the tree before Hudabiyyah. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">God delights when you resolve. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is as if the Most Gracious delights in your show, or want, for strength or to be the best that you can be. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For off course all men are weak, but the pious when their weakness becomes apparent return back to the Most Gracious in absolute humility. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Recall the Quranic lessons of David (as) and the litigants, Solomon’s (as) armies and the ant. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Let’s proceed further because the real lesson is still two steps away. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- that he did not want to increase the religion beyond the limits set by it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is a characteristic of the religious that they like to overstep the bounds set by the religion itself. But the truly pious, they know that the religion is complete and is thus, so as to appeal to everyone. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This has always been the case and is one of the reasons that Ibrahim (as) asked that the Most Gracious make him not a trial for the people, and that therefore he has no Nation.*2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And in the lifetime of the Messenger (saw) remember the three, one who wanted to pray all night, the other who wanted to fast each day, the last who wanted to eschew from women. *3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This man’s quality is that he knew that the religion is for all of the people, and that to make it more than it is, is to make it harder for the people. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now for the last step. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When we consider the two cases above, they are not dissimilar. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For in both cases the men are saying things that it will be impossible, or hard, for them to keep to. But in the first case the man does not go beyond the limits. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So when we deliberate further it is that the first man resolutely sets himself to not go further. And this marks him as a man of paradise. For he puts his trust in the Most Gracious to complete what he starts. Indeed the Mercy of the Most Gracious is so powerful, and he whom He covers with it … for them that is fully sufficient. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But for those that think that it is their prayer, or their fasting, or their eschewing from living fully in the life of the community that God puts you in, will cause them to enter paradise. These they are far from it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For Closeness to God is an opportunity that God Himself presents to you, and those that it is presented to do not let their endeavours in that matter make it more difficult for another. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For belief is precious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the beginning of it is submission to the religion of God. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So do not overcomplicate the religion thinking that it makes you more special. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The way of ascent is through sacrifice, and your guidebook throughout the journey back to the Most Gracious is nothing other than the Quran. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Let it speak to you, and respond to its ask*5. For it is indeed the speech of the Most Merciful, Lord of all the Worlds. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then let God complete you in full submission. Then you will never grieve. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through contemplation and study. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">May the Most Gracious enable for me to be a door for you to become closer to Him. Aameen. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 For it is an undoubted truth that all men at some time in their life fail, and that is why we make it up afterwards and then do istighfar.</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is the istighfar that brings us closer. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 Allah t’ala honoured him by calling him the father of the Nation of Muhammed (saw) in the last verse of S Hajj. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 Narrated Anas bin Malik (ra). </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“A group of three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet (</span><span class="s2" style="font-weight: bold;">ﷺ</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">) asking how the Prophet (</span><span class="s2" style="font-weight: bold;">ﷺ</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">) worshipped (Allah), and when they were informed about that, they considered their worship insufficient and said, "Where are we from the Prophet (</span><span class="s2" style="font-weight: bold;">ﷺ</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">) as his past and future sins have been forgiven." Then one of them said, "I will offer the prayer throughout the night forever." The other said, "I will fast throughout the year and will not break my fast." The third said, "I will keep away from the women and will not marry forever." Allah's Messenger (</span><span class="s2" style="font-weight: bold;">ﷺ</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">) came to them and said, "Are you the same people who said so-and-so? By Allah, I am more submissive to Allah and more afraid of Him than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I also marry women. So he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me (not one of my followers).”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is why the Messenger (saw) said:</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Verily, this religion is firmly solid, so come into it gently.” </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Surprisingly also narrated by Anas bin Malik (ra). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This means internalise it, and interpret it and grapple with it. Make it personal to yourself. For that is it’s real bounty. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-42817039477414922782023-08-08T10:50:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:48:12.580+00:00Just Three Cultures<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Just three cultures produced the greatest innovations, and the greatest advancements, that we have seen to the human condition. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_6469_1ce8_348f_ee41" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1U84dH0T_997VlconKTEcdP8UcZIV2nQU" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And because out of many, those three must have some commonality about them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For the Greeks democracy was only for the free male, non servile classes, whilst those who did not fit that descriptive were born to serve and were never free. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And you will never find any history about that underclass that propped up the Greek City-States. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Industrial Revolution followed on from the age of conquest, and empire, that saw the British Monarch granting exclusive licences to essentially exploit anything and everything that could be had elsewhere. As a self-reenforcing system this meant that your wealth was dependent both operationally and “legally” on your support for the Monarch. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is saw great wealth accumulated by a certain class of people. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Both of the above two cultures produced classes of people who had the leisure time to think deeply about the World and our place within it, and then to experiment. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After all that endeavour costs time, effort and money. And of itself does not produce any wealth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed industry is born of innovation, but innovation is rarely had when you focus on healthy cash flows. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The anomaly then is the Islamic culture, that is completely at odds with exploitative behaviour. So much so that the Most Gracious and His Messenger make war upon those who guarantee themselves a profit, and forego any commensurate risk. *3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What is it then about Muslim culture that saw them have so much leisure time and opportunity to innovate, deliberate and think so deeply about all things. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For sure the Quran has been, and can continue to be, a phenomenal spur towards the advancement of Mankind, wholesale. And The Most Gracious has Himself promised to collect it, to protect it and to explain it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">However something else must also be at play within early Muslim culture that caused it to excel and innovate in Science, Technology, and related areas. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Adam Smith in his seminal work “The Wealth of Nations” argued that free trade makes everyone wealthier precisely because it makes everything all the more affordable. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The fundamental building block of Muslim society is the family, but the primary endeavour of each individual that occupies him five times a day is the SALAAT. It is this necessity to come together as a collective and to pray that made us, and can make us again, all wealthier. And this is not in regards of Akhira. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If you are unsure about this then read and contemplate the last few verses of S Jumaa’. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When the Most Gracious says that He is the best of providers, what He is actually saying is that by heeding His words He will literally make us all wealthier. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And is not the best way of doing such a thing by making all things all the more affordable?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Recall then the companion of the Messenger (saw) who whilst sojourned, isolating himself in the Mosque with the Most Gracious, during the last ten Itikaaf days and night of blessed Ramadan. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">He heard of a brothers need and ran hastily from his preoccupation worshiping our Creator in order to fulfil that need. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">He did so because he recalled the Messenger’s (saw) words that to fulfil the needs of a brother is better than Itikaaf. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When you have a society of people that each care deeply for one another, then the Most Gracious makes you all by return wealthier. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The coming together five times a day not only allows for us to fulfil each others’ needs but also is the basis for collaborative and generative work. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is this wealth that allowed our forbears to innovate, and think deeply about our cosmos and our place within it.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Creating within us brilliant thinkers whose light of knowledge still illuminates our way and the way of our Messenger (saw). That we too can again create a society that excels in all things. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*KNOWLEDGE is sought through study and contemplation. Not lectures, nor this above*</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 if no history were ever written about them, then that implies that they never once revolted, being so oppressed that they could not. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 look at the story for the invention of the locomotive. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 see v277-280 Al-Baqara. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The essential defining characteristic of Ribaa’ is that it is accumulating wealth in a risk free manner. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The third pillar of Islam, Zakat is so constructed that it is against the accumulation of wealth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 that when free trade occurs, then each Nation is free to excel in that which it does best, and then bring those things to a common marketplace. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-10922372332712218542023-06-21T11:58:00.000+00:002024-02-10T10:47:29.725+00:00OUR HOMELANDS<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">During the first thirteen years of the call to the Most Gracious, in Mecca, the number of Muslims numbered a few hundred.</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Within the ten years that followed, at Medina, not only did Muslims number in excess of tens of thousands (Fatah Mecca) but the Messenger’s (saw) influence could be felt in Persia, Rome, Egypt and the Yemen. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Within one hundred years the Empire of the Faith reached from Spain to India, and from Turkey to sub-Saharan Africa.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The idea of Islam inspired people so much during that period that we would be right to call those areas, even up until this day, our homelands (Darul Islam) *1. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_6a39_b208_8ae3_52f4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1C1Wvi1ZCUIg314Fls6LpPIJIzbauMGYz" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This persistence puts paid to the erroneous idea of Islam being spread by the sword: for Empires made by conquest, as a rule, fade whereas Islam only appears to have grown stronger and more relevant with each age. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed the abundant mercies of the Most Gracious are clearly evident to any that cares to look. And it is not that Islam makes this case well, as so often those who concentrate on inviting people towards the Most Gracious would like for us to believe. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Rather there is something else at play, in regards to the relevance and persistence of the Religion in those our homelands. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Even as far back as to the times of Nuh (as), Noah, we find that his people did not want to appreciate, and so could not “see” the sign (miracle) that he was sent with. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that instead they focussed their argument against believing on … “how can we believe when the worst of the people follow you”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That theme occurs even at the start of the Quran, at the start of Baqara. And later within Baqara the Most Gracious rebukes that class of people with the same words that they use to rebuke the poor, downtrodden and helpless who even then choose to believe. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That they are the real downtrodden and worthless people, through their own choice. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In Sham (Syria) when the Muslim armies needed to regroup to face the greatest battle of their time against Rome, at Hittin. They had garrisoned themselves outside of the Syrian towns, and as they could no longer guarantee the resident populations protection against the oppression of Caesar, the Muslim commanders ordered that the Jizyah be returned. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This speaks volumes. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But again only to those that care to listen. So please do think on this before ongoing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That our people are not the intelligent literate classes, who are so often the target of our brothers focused on Dawa, but our people are the downtrodden ones victimised by the State that we live in. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Those are our people. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Who will never get a fair trial, nor hearing. Who are unjustly criminalised by an oppressive Criminal Justice System. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And not only are those our people, we are those people. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For we disproportionately outnumber within the criminalised, because we are so often the target of the Police who are bent on conviction, to the extent that they have no moral qualms lying to magistrates, judges and the public. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Sarah Everard’s killer is no exception to the rule. The Police routinely protect their own. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And how many have been sent down just because of Police testimony. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Anyone with a care to read between the lines knows full well how they lie. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For the MacDonald’s <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Manager said that he had shown the CCTV to the Officer. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">She said contradictorily that the Met did not prioritise that crime, and within the same breath that the footage was shown to another Officer and not her. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Truth be told, they are not tasked with investigating but with criminalising. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We have within our volumes the fullest description of the Devils and what they are eager to accomplish. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How many Muslims families are broken because of them, and their false morality?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So *If you believe in Allah and the last Day, why will you not fight?*</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The pressing question for those who believe is “who should we fight?”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For the Israeli problem requires for a Palestinian solution. Just as does the Syrian problem.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So whilst we might feel their pain, as if it is our pain, their resolution must come from within themselves. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The example that we must set for them is that we are fearless in the things that affect us and our people. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we will inveigh against a biased Criminal Justice System, and a Police Force that criminalises instead of investigating. For these are our oppressors and the oppressors of our people, who yet wait to call themselves Muslim. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*And then when we do that with truth, and sacrifice, and openness, then these will be our homelands.*</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">NOTES TO FOLLOW. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-44366616387247915422023-05-25T23:51:00.001+00:002023-12-08T11:52:10.378+00:00Ya Sadiq- your faith proven true <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Hudhayfah <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>ibn Al-Yaman (ra), </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_6236_49a7_9cb6_9fc" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/drive-viewer/AK7aPaABDArR4pdqBD_FcqWV1ru-1IyUWMLNdXrseV5arArxcguDt3dhk2Py-N3E9ho_B74HMKLny1BXLOYMKZF_0EKeRTbr" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whenever Umar (ra), the second rightly guided, wished to appoint someone as governor of a province, or to raise someone in authority over others, it is said that he liked to consult the opinion of Hudhayfah (ra). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Some commentators say that Hudhayfah (ra) had a unique ability to gauge people’s nature. And that is why Umar (ra) used to consult him. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But that is less than half of it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For Hudhayfah had been given a title by the Messenger (saw): “the trustworthy of my Nation”. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For he was entrusted with the names of the twelve hypocrites that had been provided to the Messenger (saw) from Gibreel (as) himself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And Umar (ra) was acutely aware of this trust, and of the harm that can be done to the society of Muslims by the munafiq. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">He himself narrated that they did not know who they were until Hudhayfah failed to present himself for their Janazza (funeral) prayer. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This tells us of two facts:</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- that Hudhayfah (as) was assiduous in the keeping of the trust. And did not reveal the names to anyone. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- that the Munafiq were indistinguishable from the believers, until the last. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Umar (ra) rightly worried to give honour, and authority, to those who hid their true nature under the semblance of belief. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And if they were present in that the best of generations, do you not think that they are present here, even amongst us even now?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We know from the first lines of Baqara that their nature is of a deep self-deception. That they cannot see their hypocrisy, and instead in the interpretation of Al-Ghazali are want to bring arguments to shore up their self belief. So they thrust their fingers deep into their ear holes forcing out any sound of reason that could enliven them to self scrutiny. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We must not just watch out for a slowly creeping hypocrisy within ourselves, but we must also be vigilant, just like Umar (ra), against both befriending them and allowing them to take positions of authority amongst us. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So off course we must deliberate upon their essential characteristics not just to avoid being like them, but also to mark out those who we know who are of them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is the Sunnah of the Messenger (saw) to mark them out so that they are known, but not to call them out. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And to leave the Most Gracious to deal with one He created alone. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So what are their characteristics?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In times of plenty they will be your brothers, and be by your side. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And you will be happy with them, and them with you. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But when a trial is put upon you, not only will they dessert, but they will double and even triple the trial. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So that they will try to benefit from what they see as your misfortune. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when a trial is put upon them, then you will see how they loose their very own morality. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">They are like those mentioned in Surah Fajr, that even a small trifling trial causes them to loose themselves. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How they will lie, and support lies. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How they will call out what you or others do, even though they would have benefited from the very thing that they called out. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How they will play a game between two people and think it fun to watch the outcome. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How they will turn and twist every which way, and use arguments to justify their every insolence. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“O I am your brother. And the Believers are but brothers of one another”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A true statement from the one who is a liar, and a supporter of a liar. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But for the believers when a trial is put upon them they only say: “this is what has been promised” and it does not affect their morality. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For they know that to Allah is our return. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And they bear with patience every trial. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And for them the last of Baqara rings true -</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That God does not put a burden on any that they cannot bear. That what good you earn is for yourself and that what evil you earn is for yourself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That trials and oppression are no excuse for immorality, for lies or their ilk, for sowing discord in the name of democracy or any other fine words that mean little to nothing. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so for the believers trials and oppressions only bring them closer to the Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And they worry about the means and know that the ends lie with the Most Gracious. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For at the end of it, He asks us to call upon Him in apparent and clear familiarity - Anta Maulana- O Allah you are the protecting friend of those who believe, and we have believed in you. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And if you have Allah as your Maula, and your second, why would you not fight to remove oppression from yourself?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this is the answer to the ask that precedes it- give us not a burden, the like of which you gave to those before us. A reference to the early Christians, our earlier brothers, who were torn limb from limb for professing faith. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For they were meek. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But we are strong. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so Allah t’ala commands you to fight against oppression which is against the very free nature of your soul- with your thoughts, and your words and your actions. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And to be patient is no less a fight, so long as you do not give up yearning to fight and free yourself from it. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For once the fight is out of you, then you will have lost. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the Believers they are the successful ones. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And for such people when we look at “laysal birr”.. it is not righteousness that you face the east or the west. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The description you will find there will relate to you, for there God calls you as-Sadiq: the one whose faith has proved true. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Those who do not give up on hope. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Who will never give up the fight.</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And will bear with patience their inability to fight, until it is rendered easy for them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then they fight with their brains, and their might and their hearts against every oppression. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But for the Munafiq there is only doom and dismay. For they do not believe, and they purchase but paltry things for this life and ignore the everlasting things. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So even though you will <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>not be able to distinguish them, you should at the very least try. And then do not lend an ear to them, or allow them any authority over you. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What an excellent title for an excellent soul- ya Sadiq. Those whose faith has proven true. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-44509110084634631642023-05-06T11:21:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:46:36.470+00:00Hadith is not the Sunnah <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If I were to advise you to do something, and then went on to do the opposite, you would rightly accuse me of hypocrisy. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nor would you follow me, even if my advice was sound and true. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is why Allah t’ala choose Messengers and Prophets from amongst mankind, and did not send down Angels carrying hefty books. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><div><img id="id_59f8_6ed_e488_d42b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/11JMIADZqm9umV2uPLCcAgjwKFK4FCkle" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></div><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In Bukhari we find a saying of the Messenger (saw) in which he advised us to get married, and further qualified his statement with higher emphasis by stating</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span> <span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">that the one who does not, is not of him.</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is reported by Bukhari in his Sahih collection. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But when you study the life of Imam Bukhari, you would find that he never married. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This inconsistency cannot be brushed away by lauding his dedication to the Hadeeth sciences, as so often the Muhaddith do, because on the face of it, it would mean that Bukhari is not of the Messenger (saw). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But those who follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (saw) know that this is not his way. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All too often people think that Hadith informs the Sunnah. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But they forget that the Sunnah is far greater than the Hadith, and so the Sunnah should rightly inform our approach to Hadith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For they are not synonymous. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed the Messenger (saw) told us to hold fast to the Quran and his Sunnah. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">He did not say hold fast to the Quran and my Hadith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Further we know that whilst he (saw) encouraged the writing of the Quran, he discouraged the writing of his Hadith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So there be the dichotomy- </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That he told us to hold fast to his Sunnah, and concurrently discouraged the writing of Hadith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this alone should wake you to the fact that Hadith are not the same as the Sunnah, however they can of course help inform you of some specific Sunnah practices. *3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So I hope that you will come, alongside me, to the defining question of what is the Sunnah, without the baggage of our Muhaddith heritage?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When we read, in the Seerah, of the pact of the women (the first treaty of Aqabah) that the Messenger (saw) concluded with the Medinese in the late Meccan period, we should note the simplicity of the moral code of the Muslims. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The companions at that time were known as the Quranic generation and those few lucky people drank fully from the nectar of revelation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">From them, they reported that they implemented each of ten verses of the Quran before going further and implementing the next ten. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This was not solely committing ten verses to memory at a time, but was much more importantly implementing each ten. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The burning question is that what did they imbibe from the Quran, and what did they implement, when practically all of the directives that inform our way of life were sent down in Medina?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed God’s speech in the Quran commands for us to “obey God” and “obey the Messenger”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the way of the father of our Nation, Ibrahim, is termed “Millatta Ibrahim” in the Quranic speech. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whereas the word Sunnah is mentioned several times and in the main in regards to God, himself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Classically we have that:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“No change will you find in the Sunnatu’Allah”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Which is often translated as “the ways of God”, the Most Merciful. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is interesting to note that the language of the Quran often moulded the language of our Messenger (saw). And we deliberated on this in an earlier post in regards to the word Ajeeb*4. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So what the companions were imbibing during those incredible thirteen years was the Sunnat’Allah- the ways and methods of God, Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That God loves for you to be kind, generous and giving, because that is exactly who He is, and those are His ways. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That God loves for you to be merciful and compassionate, because that is exactly who He is except that He is the Most of those. That He wishes for you to be just, true and to uphold your words and your contracts because that is His way. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then if the Sunnat’Allah are the ways of God, Most Merciful, the Sunnah of the Messenger (saw) is how he translated these things into the way he lived. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">These are the words of Bibi Aisha (ra), “he was the walking Quran”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So where can we learn about the methods that the Messenger (saw) adopted in his day to day life except by studying the Seerah?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For it is here that we gain the joined up picture of the challenges and trials that he faced and how he met them, about his family life and how he treated his wives, about his communal life and how he instructed the companions. And so much more. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Sunnah of the Messenger (saw) are the methods that he adopted in all these cases and much much more. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But do you think that discovering these that you will not have to deliberate nor think?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Because you will need to extract generalities from the specifics, and that is not a definite science and requires interpretation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Indeed the Quran, which declares that it is without doubt, itself emphasises so many times the need for interpretation by also declaring, many a time, “this is the best interpretation (ta’wil)”. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Implying that there are better interpretations, good interpretations, and poor interpretations. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that it is our task to fathom them and explore them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Alhamdolillah, our religion, Islam is an intelligent religion. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the Most Gracious wants for you to think, internalise and understand His ways and will. So that we can act to realise them in each and every way. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So for those who think that the Sunnah relates to the appearance of the Messenger (saw), are you so sure? *5</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And if your argument is that when you see him in a dream how would you recognise him without such knowledge, when you wake into it then you will have woken already knowing who he is. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And for those of you who think that the Hadith require no interpretation….</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Consider simply:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Amr ibn al-‘As reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">If a judge makes a ruling, striving to apply his reasoning</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">and he is correct, he will have two rewards. If a judge makes a ruling, striving to apply his reasoning and he is mistaken, he will have one reward</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">.”” *6</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The above which is often used to cement the authority of the Shuyookh, that even when get it wrong they are blessed. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now consider who is being addressed?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Who is the Messenger (saw) talking to here? Is it to the people and that they should respect the Qadis, or is it to the Qadis themselves?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">May you be guided to see that where you place the emphasis drastically changes the meaning. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If you place the emphasis on authority, then you will be amongst the vast majority. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But if you place the emphasis on struggling to reach a correct judgment, that the Messenger (saw) is here recommending that in that struggle there is blessing…</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then consider how many of our Shuyookh struggle with the meaning of our Messenger’s words, and how many simply use them to cement their authority?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">There are better meanings and good meanings, may we all be guided towards those which are better, Aameen. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A story is narrated by the Muhaddith of Imam Malik (rm), that once he travelled far to collect a Hadith from someone. *7</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When he arrived he went in and left without asking about the Hadith. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">His student asked him why he travelled so far, only to neglect asking about it once there. He replied, “did you not look at the finger marks on his prayer mat?” That he would not take it from one whom he considered did not pray correctly. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Now consider this story?</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is this the Sunnah of our noble Messenger (saw)?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Clearly Imam Malik (rm) heard of this Hadith before making the journey and considered it beneficial. And all he wanted was for the line of transmission to be exactingly clear. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When we deliberate on the pact of the virtuous (hilf ul fadl) that the Messenger (saw) was party to before he received revelation, and that he later said whilst in Medina that if he were called to fulfil it to this day he would answer the call. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That the Sunnah is to take the good from wherever it is. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that is why we do not discount the narration in Bukhari in relation to marriage. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Because the person who follows the Sunnah takes the best from all sources, and considers with his intelligence the best interpretation of each of them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through contemplation and deliberation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To struggle with the Quran is the height of it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">NOTES. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 This may be disputed, but as with our tradition we argue to the best that a position purports. And for the Muhaddith this is what they posit as the dedication that Imam Bukhari had towards his goal. That he was so dedicated that he eschewed marriage. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And having a kunya is not evidence of marriage, nor is having right hand possessed. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 see later in my argument to understand the way and method of the Messenger (saw). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 so for example the method of greeting someone, the method of cutting your nails</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Etc… but not the greater Sunnah practices and methods. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 not to associate others with the most Gracious, not to commit adultery or zinna, nor to steal. These are the main ones. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 There are some that believe that to revive a Sunnah is to keep their hair at the same length that the Messenger (saw) had. They extract no generalities from the specifics and believe that to be a man of the Sunnah is to completely emulate the Messenger in all aspects. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">However the Messenger (saw) disliked to eat dessert lizards which were considered a delicacy amongst the Arabs at that time, he informed us that they are not forbidden and just that he disliked eating them. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In a like manner interpretation is required always. Did the Messenger (saw) keep his hair shoulder length for a reason? And if so what was the reason? Was it Wahiy or was it because that is how he liked to keep it?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*6 This saying whilst addressing the Quadis (whom we lack as a class of people in this present time) also tells us who they are. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">They are the people who struggle with the Quran and Sunnah in trying to reach a religious verdict that can be of benefit to someone with a dilemma that needs a solution. They are not dogmatic, instead they are intelligent in that they should be willing to exercise their intelligence. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*7 Once again this story is arguing to what they consider their great achievements. That Imam Malik (rm) was so assiduous in his Hadith collection. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-35198396254495094172023-04-25T12:29:00.001+00:002024-02-10T10:45:58.050+00:00The Least Expected<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Our brains are phenomenal interpretative machines. The eyes send staccato visual sensory signals to the visual cortex within our brains that stitch it all into a seamless whole. Giving us the “sensory illusion” that we inhabit a congruent world.*1</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_7bec_a514_d0a7_d004" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/14FfuD5zYTT_mcySRBaRNwc3ZeOyUuE39" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">More recently it has been shown that the sounds that we hear affect our perception of taste: that music with higher notes actually causes us to taste things more sweetly, and deeper notes more bitter tones. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That our brains interpret without even the slightest conscious effort. And that everything is coloured by the lenses that we each choose to adopt. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This is evident even within our greatest prize- language itself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That even when certain letters are missing within a sentence, that we are still able to make sense of it. Or auto correct when a <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>a word is mistakenly duplicated twice, without any conscious effort. *3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That each revelation came to bring meaning into our lives, not just by emphasising our God-given purpose *4, but by also awakening us to the reality of things. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is why Nabi Isa (as) [Jesus] said I call you to life *8. Just as the Message sent to Muhammed (saw) likewise invokes an awakening from slumber into the light of knowledge. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But that knowledge is not something hidden like the Sufis claim, rather it is something evident and clear. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So clear that it is missed by the vast majority. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we need seeming contradictions to wake us from our slumber. *5</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And even the Quran with its phenomenal speech. What will awaken you to it’s wonder?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Settle your mind on it’s contemplation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when we allow our minds natural interpretative skill to consider it, we should be startled by it’s unusualness. *6</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That the Most Gracious does not start with Glory be to God, the creator of all things (in Arabic - Kulli Shay). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But rather He says…</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All thanks is due to God, the Sustainer of the Worlds. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Imagine this Spring as you walk through the park and see a fully formed and distinct cloud of flies, consider is this not a World for each of those flies. That Allah t’ala sustains them and their communities, and provides for them from places that we cannot see. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Contemplate the Worlds below which our vision cannot unaided see, does He not sustain them, miraculously? </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And at times He might opens your eyes to the invisible World, that we each believe exists but cannot see. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What will awaken you to His wonder?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So allow your mind to contemplate what it expects, so that it might be awoken by that which doesn’t fit the mould. *7</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">END</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 congruent in the sense that the image/model of the World that we house within our psyche is congruent with the real World beyond our senses. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><a href="https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-can-we-truly-know-part-1-theories.html?m=1">https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-can-we-truly-know-part-1-theories.html?m=1</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 For example the famous Gorilla experiment, where people were given the task to count something that occurs within a video footage, and seem oblivious (cannot see) to a Gorilla that comes within the frame of view. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 The sentence written here for you is </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">is false. See if that works for you. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Or look again at the sentence that you read to get here. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 “We did not create Men, nor Djinn, except to worship Me” said the Most Gracious to whom all praise is due, from whom all goodness emanates. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is that purpose that resonates within the whole of Creation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 Like the last three days of Nabi Isa’s (as) earthly life. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> <a href="https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/02/coming-comforter-physical-proof-of.html?m=1">https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/02/coming-comforter-physical-proof-of.html?m=1</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Or the event of Hudabiyyah </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><a href="https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2021/02/hudabiyyah-proof-of-messenger.html?m=1">https://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2021/02/hudabiyyah-proof-of-messenger.html?m=1</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*6 this is like the method used by Tabari in contemplating verse 2 of Baqara. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Here he says… why does Allah t’ala say Dhalika (that is..) as opposed to Hadha (here is…). And that itself is a beautiful contemplation in which some would differ from what he wrote. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*7 this is Tadabbur which I hope with Allah t’ala’s help that I might start in a structured manner with a group of like minded brothers soon. InshaAllah. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*8 this is the epitomised by Muslim society with its 5 daily prayers that mean a constant movement throughout the day, it’s lunar months- never fully predictable, and the Ramadan which dishevels your whole life. Fully a society constructed to awaken you from slumber. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-17131508409068036262023-04-07T06:39:00.001+00:002023-04-08T18:29:38.430+00:00The Supplication <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><font size="4">When we consider the religion and the centrality of dua, sincere supplication, to it, then there is a lesson that we often neglect. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><font size="4"><br></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><font size="4"><img id="id_64f4_71b8_6ec1_e1fd" src="https://alexdenk.eu/blogtouch?id=1GSlcghW61qlirVII3JhLeYIEGd_2sVJm" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">This centrality is evident within the 1st pillar, because God’s nature that is emphasised in the Kalima Shahadah is that He is the one that responds to our duas. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">We know that Islam is perfect, and that any addition or subtraction from it, and any innovation is a going astray. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">But the question that I would like for you to deliberate today, is whether that accepted rule also relates to our method of supplication, and asking for God’s help?</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">In essence Is dua part of the rituals of our phenomenal religion, because we need to guard and protect each one of our religious rituals from innovation. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">These rituals in essence relate to the 5 pillars. That we cannot add to, or subtract from, or in any way alter or innovate in </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- the Shahadah, that makes us Muslim </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- The prayer, including all the prayers that we have been given from the Jannazza to Salatul Tasbih. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- And in anything that relates to the prayer from the Adhan to the Wudu (and Ghusl) that are the keys to a successful Salat (vis a vis Hadith)</font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- The Zakah, and the categories of beneficiaries. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- The Sawm of Ramadan, and what it constitutes</font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- The Hajj and Umrsh, and their arkaan. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">Then what about dua. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">Considering it’s centrality to our religion?</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">When you consider that question then you would be well versed if you note. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">1- no where do we find a similar instruction in regards to dua as we have in regards to the prayer - “pray as you have seen me pray”</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">2- whilst we do have examples of how the Messenger (saw) raised his hands, and these are the best to follow, we have no indication that these are the only ways of asking. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">3- that we are informed in the sublime recitation that God, most gracious, even responds to the supplication of the disbelievers when they are in distress. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">And then you come upon that phenomenal verse in Baqara-</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">“They ask you about me. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">Indeed I am near.”</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">When you consider these then you would hopefully see that the rule against innovation in regards to supplication does not exist. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">For the Most Gracious solely wants for you to turn to Him, to ask from Him, to supplicate to Him, and to believe that He is the One that hears and responds. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">So if you see a Muslim raising his hands and wiping his face thereafter, do not be so foolish as to think that he has innovated. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">For the Most Gracious accepts the supplication of any that asks, and in any manner that they ask. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">Famously we have the saying of the Messenger (saw) to tie your camel first and then have faith, here action preempts faith. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">But with the supplication it reverses. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">For then we have that you ask of the Most Gracious, and then with a firm belief in His response you seek for what you had asked for- and indeed that is something that the Most Gracious loves. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">And this method we find so many times in the Seerah of our noble Messenger (saw), that He asked and then he acted in a decisive manner. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">And the best of things to ask for are those which are better and much more longer lasting- </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- For guidance, for indeed God loves to do good and loves that do good. And hates those who wrong and oppress.</font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- For freedom from oppression, for any oppression against the soul is the kin of disbelief. And then to act to free yourself from that oppression. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">- to save you from the torment of the fire, which is real, and for you to enter in to everlasting Paradise. These relate to our unseen beliefs and to ask for them is something that the Most Gracious delights in. </font></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 40.9px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font size="4"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></font></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4">Indeed the Most Merciful is the ever living, the keeper of the everlasting and most beautiful of things, to Him belong the finest mysteries so ask from Him for the best.</font></span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-8333120242411595252023-04-05T15:39:00.001+00:002023-04-05T15:39:50.848+00:00The Retractable Blade<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 28px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;">The retractable blade </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_396f_401c_b710_6956" src="https://alexdenk.eu/blogtouch?id=1RQP3eN5Fw4Y7kDa33ggUpUI8-1gtQn2L" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The retractable blade </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Does not hurt no more </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is a game, a gimmick </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Made for the show. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To come alive we do not need </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To feel the breath of death </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nor suffer its pangs</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Not for the pleasure of any crowd </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Save only to witness Ramadans sweetness </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then we give, and give, </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">and give </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Some more </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when death comes looking </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We would never smother it’s embrace </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For we made a statement that we will never retract </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Never recant </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That God is One, </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that the Messenger did deliver this Truth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Shafees </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Freedom is but a statement away. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then to believe, that is a journey towards closeness. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-21266865610243474482023-03-11T02:26:00.001+00:002023-03-11T02:32:14.788+00:00Transmuting Love into Hate<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It’s startling that love as a feeling can cause someone to behave both irrationally and contrary to their interests. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_571a_d7ac_8355_b28b" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y93Q-gyNpRrQvz93k0nDdMB8rWlUVa5_JHyH-eh6hugEExHMq-6Rzq0AygVKcVKxF0" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After all love can cause us to sacrifice all in it’s service. And that even when it’s promise is fleeting. (Remember Rogogin). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But when you love a principle, and indeed the greatest of principles is the Most Gracious, the Ever Living, even then that love can cause you to behave irrationally. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Like the man who stumbled over the words and God smiled. He stumbled in his eagerness and said “God is my servant and I am his Master” instead of the appropriate, and true, reversal. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Most Gracious does not take you to task for your eagerness, that causes you to stumble, rather He delights in it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Like for example the man who hates a proponent of the truth because in his eyes they do not live up to the standards set by the Truth. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Here he loves the truth of the religion so much, that when someone fails, in his eyes, in regards to the principles of the religion, then he hates them with a vehemence. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So here contradictorily vehemence is born from love. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And when we deliberate further then we would realise that the worst of crimes- envy- is also born from love. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But a misplaced love of things, or authority, or standing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> But a love of a principle. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The love of the idea of Islam, and the nobility that it entails?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That person is a Muslim and a believer, even though they may not even know it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Then when they see someone who espouses the religion, <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>but doesn’t live up to their high standards, then that can be their tipping point into hypocrisy and disbelief. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As mentioned in S Taubah, they believe and then they disbelieve, they believe and then they disbelieve, they believe and then they disbelieve and then God confirms them in their hypocrisy. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It is beautiful that such a person believes even despite all that they have been through, and all that they see of the wrongs of the Muslims. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But the worry is that God confirms them in hypocrisy. And that is the worst of stations. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that can be especially the case when they do not think and deliberate, and they fail to choose belief over disbelief, hope and openness over poor faith and closedness. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Islam is complete. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the believers are but brothers one of the other. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">END</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Written off the cuff, past midnight rambling that ishaAllah I’ll make into a proper blog later. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-49181132326779773722023-02-25T11:57:00.001+00:002023-02-25T14:28:01.381+00:00Malcolm X’s Legacy<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">(this is fully written from memory)</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I read Malcolm X’s autobiography at around 19, and it left a deep impression on me that I harbour to this day. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Alex Haley, in the preface, tells about the first time he met Malcolm- </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That he had a presence about him, that he likened to being in the room with a panther. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_3a98_31a7_556a_9f16" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/TIxZS1kgpsKdOkPv9KNCJ3DaB_-3EyM79wWrlr07tDOjWDUzkYrs6jH2_vn2nWSdv9g" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Malcolm’s story is remarkable precisely because it shows us the power of transformation. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But this is not a transformation that is directly attributable to belief, rather when you read his autobiography you realise that he was fearless. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For when he toured US campuses, as a member of the Nation (*2), he had no qualms calling out the White Supremacists for who they were, and that is even within the Deep South. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this fearlessness was also present with him during his convulsive youth when he was known as “Detroit Red” for good reason. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The lesson that I took from his life story, even at my tender age of 18-19, was that God guides those who are fearless. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Malcolm was a firecracker who listened to his intuition.*3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Recalled to me is a story from Readers Digest from those heady 80-90s days of a black African American son whose father had been murdered by White Supremacists, how when his fathers body was being exhumed for forensic examination- how the boy insisted against all protestations on being present. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">They had justifiably worried that the body would be teaming with worms and decayed beyond recognition. *4</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">When they opened the cask, the father lay as if he had only that day passed away and been buried. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Do you think the Shuhudah are only of those who profess?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What of those who believe, but had not the opportunity to profess, and died in the struggle of right against wrong?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so, Alhamdolillah in my early 20s, I knew who I wanted to be. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that fearlessness is not just of brawn and sinew, but is more importantly of the mind. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That being intelligent, and not being scared to be intelligent, is also part and parcel of being brave, just like Malcolm. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And so I did not pursue formal certifiable studies of the religion, but left the Most Gracious to guide me- knowing that He guides those who are fearless. *5</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And this is directly by His Grace, and not the staid ways of formalism that suck the life blind from the heart of this religion. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is for this reason that I know He will guide Andrew Tate, and neither do I advocate watching his videos or his interviews. For guidance is a process, and not an end in itself. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And to the Most Gracious is our return. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And to Him is due all glory and praise. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Knowledge is sought through fearless pursuit and contemplation. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Not lectures and formalism. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But by living life to the utmost, and then allowing yourself to be guided. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">NOTES</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 Alex Haley wrote Malcolm X’s autobiography from first hand interviews with him. He also famously penned “Roots” which became a land mark series detailing colonisations impact on the African Americans.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 the Nation of Islam was as far from traditional Islam as anything could possibly be. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Muhammed (saw) has the title seal of the Prophets because he was the last to be sent. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Remarkably Malcolm X fell out with Elijah Mohammed, who had claimed Prophethood. He then visited Mecca on Hajj and found pure Islam where there are no racial barriers. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The Nation had since inception promulgated the idea of segregation between colours, as a means of the black man realising his true identity. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whereas pure Islam advocates all men finding their identity in the worship and service of the Infinitely Gracious. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 in the autobiography he narrates one incident where his intuition told him to drop the piece that he was packing, only a little later to be stopped and searched by the police. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In Islamic theories of knowledge ilhaam (inspiration) is brother to Wahiy (revelation). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 This is not Malcolm X’s father. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Although he too was murdered because he was too uppity, when Malcolm was a child. This eventually destroyed the family. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*5 see the last verse of Ankabut. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then read the whole of it. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Alhamdolillah. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-72060019765194956422023-02-23T22:10:00.001+00:002023-02-23T22:10:41.979+00:00Be Part of an Ongoing Charity- Sadaqa Jariyah <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px 0px 3px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 28px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-weight: bold;">*BE PART OF AN ONGOING CHARITY: SADAQAH JARIYAH*</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">As a group we have young footballers that face an uncertain future. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We can all give them the certainty to face those challenges with heart, and hope, by helping them to connect with the centres of Islamic faith. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">With your help we intend to take a contingent of these young brothers with us for an Umrah trip to Mecca and Medina, to perform the sacred rites. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_268d_9101_707f_8aee" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/htM1db6jP0gT8xnsSmyJ2yriIWcAQSo9jHzTwzzt9vtsFWj44GU0y_RhpGSdGmF4t0c" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Crucially each of those, here, that want to go will be required to give a three-fold commitment:</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- to pay as much as they can afford towards the trip. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- to make sincere supplication for their sponsor once there. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">3- & *MOST IMPORTANTLY* to contribute towards this ongoing endeavour, at some future unspecified time, when they have the means to sponsor another young person to likewise go as a group to connect both with our common history and the centre of our World. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*THE THIRD COMMITMENT*</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is the kernel of an ongoing charity, *Sadaqa Jariyah*. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Since to be a part of it, both for you and your sponsors, means that the blessing will not stop until Qiyamah, InshaAllah. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the Most Gracious blesses us all because of our intention on the occasion that it does not. Ameen. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*The Specifics*</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Available to anyone and everyone here aged 18 and over. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Under 18 solely accompanied with a full paying, male adult, having parental responsibility. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We plan to go mid September for one week. Estimated costs around £800 pp. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">InshaAllah we will try and make this an every alternate year event. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So that our younger brothers, who are presently under 18, can benefit from this in the future. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*What do you need to do*</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">1- DM Shafi to say that you are interested. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">2- be willing to take part in a social media campaign to promote this. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">3- make the commitment. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">4- it is envisaged that sponsorship will be specific to you, and your monetary needs. So that your photo and a small video about who you will be made available online. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">(You will only have to say your first name)</span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">5- money will be collected by me using PayPal and I will communicate with your sponsor via email. </span></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">6- we discourage making videos at the Haramain, however we will need to prove to your sponsors that you did in fact visit the holy places and I will make small videos with that intent once there. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p3" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Shafi </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-58970329338666882932023-02-06T08:47:00.001+00:002023-02-07T09:31:35.299+00:00How much should we believe?<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The central dilemma that every Muslim faces is how much should you believe?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img id="id_8b47_4109_acbe_61" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S3Ie-RHcgH1gg_7unLxLq9zKBCV192OHes5UdvwTnTQZWAPCya26qZxf8O_xLe4mw0s" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After all whenever Allah t’ala reminds us of the centrality of prayer to our religion, He likewise reminds us of the requirement to give Charity (Zakah).</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Sacrifice is an essential requirement towards belief. And that in a nutshell is the dilemma that we each face, how much sacrifice is warranted through believing in something that is of the hidden World, that we cannot see, nor behold. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Islam from outset has always been a rational religion, and we must believe that it is so in it’s entirety. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But what does it mean for it to be rational and yet appeal to things that we cannot see?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For sure it promotes the acquisition of knowledge, contemplation of truth, and an unbiased application of rules. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Within its corpus of knowledge, it is full to the brim with fathomless depth, without any contradiction. And it is this fullness that means that it has the answer to all questions that can be posed about it, including those of it’s very own limits. *1</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">So it should likewise point a way towards the resolution of this dilemma. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How much should we believe?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The answer lies within a famous Hadith Qudsi, in which God says that if you go towards him a hands breadth He would come towards you and arms length and finishes that if you go towards God walking that He would come towards you running. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That belief in God is responsive. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And belief in God is tangible. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Closeness (to God) is not a feeling, but it is far greater than that. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Imagine how incredible belief is. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That the weight of belief is far greater than anything that you could imagine. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that God created you (and the whole cosmos) for the sole purpose that you would be able to find Him and then realise that prayer to Him is something that is not just obligated and necessary, but more importantly is something incredibly beautiful. *2</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then He explained to us that true piety and righteousness is to believe in Him, and His angels and His books and His prophets and messengers that He has sent. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That He is Al-Batin, the One that chooses to remain hidden, and az-Zahir the self evident One, whose reality is so obvious to those that think and ponder. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And it is because He chooses to remain hidden, that necessitated the Angels as agents of His will. For He is the One, Qawiyyun Aziz, the mighty, the powerful and the One that intervenes. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And He sends the Angels as Messengers to inform us of His intervention. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">(See Further Study) </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That is the reason that true belief is so precious <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and so heavy. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And that is why sacrifice is so central. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then the dilemma fulfils itself in that although belief is other-worldly, sacrifice cannot happen unless you are fully participatory within this World (Hayat ud-Dunya). </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">That we each must feel the loss of sacrifice, otherwise it would not be a sacrifice. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But when you know the reality of things then that is a small price. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Only the Most Gracious can guide you on that path to fulfilment. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And part of that path is to realise that struggle against oppression is likewise necessitated. For oppression is the kin of disbelief, whereas true freedom is the brother of belief. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And the first struggle is with the Quran. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Seeking to understand it within the light of your lives, allowing it to talk to you and then in responding to its speech.*3</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How many of us prefer to be given the answers to that struggle? *4</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How many would choose the hard path of not knowing, and then deliberating?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation*</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Not lectures, nor this above. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*1 all things have limits, not least the religion. And not least belief. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The religion is clear and is the 5 and our rituals. And any addition is a going astray. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Belief is something much more precious and much more difficult, it is a journey and the guide on that journey is the Quran. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*2 Another famous Hadith Qudsi. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“I was a hidden treasure, and so I created that I might be known”. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And to know that God is both moral and good, necessitated the creation of moral agents that have free will and the capacity to both. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And then He sent Messengers and Prophets to guide us. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And books to make us intelligent. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*3 The current dominant school of thought present within the Muslim Nation is that the Quran is part of Allah t’ala Asma wa Sifaat (His Names and Attributes) and should not be over deliberated upon. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This in clear contradiction to verses within the Quran that tell you to deliberate. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">*4 this is not Tafseer, which posits answers. But this is reflection, which is by far much greater. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">^FURTHER STUDY*</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Contemplate S Hajj from the parable of the fly. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Read it with Tarteel. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Find a similar sounding passage in S Hadid (iron). </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Find that one verse in S Hadid that is ambiguous, may you be guided by the Most Gracious to discover its meaning (that is not written anywhere). </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-69888863894243178682022-12-17T17:56:00.001+00:002022-12-17T20:41:23.123+00:00The Speech as a Call to Action. <p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">The most wonderful thing about God’s speech is that it really is a guide book on each our journeys returning back to the Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"><img id="id_f466_9cbb_6a67_5503" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3ZqdhqKQwgxtGPbpBuk-tzZ7jznzQXzo-Ogn3kmuQQof5ZE-cwGE4c0n20fL9hqfS1A" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">We can, if we look carefully, find a part of God’s speech that talks directly to each of us, as if we were being addressed in the first person, on that turn, or cross path, that we might find on the road of our lives. </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">The writers amongst us know how much more powerful it is when we frame a sentence in an active sense as opposed to the normal passive descriptive. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Indeed communication is all about the transfer of meaning through the use of symbolic language. But it’s the framing that distinguishes a call to action from the normal description. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And that’s why Plato’s syllogisms have never carried any weight with me, because all that they say is at most a nothing.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Classically we find;</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Plato is a man </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">All men are rational </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Thus Plato is rational </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">; which actually says nothing because each of the premises could be false, and the conclusion could still be true. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And even if both premises are true, the conclusion could still be false and Plato might be the exception that proves the rule. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Here we are taught that sentences are of the form of subject- predicate, where the predicate provides some information about the subject. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And the syllogism is thus simply a descriptive argument, that can move you towards believing a certain idea. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">But belief is one thing, and encouragement towards an action is a completely different thing. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And it is the descriptive form of what sentences should really be about that explains al-Ashari’s “bi la kayf”, (without a how), when we find God talking about Himself in His Speech. That we should accept it without trying to understand it, since we cannot understand it because it relates to the Most Gracious, and none is like unto Him. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And it is clear also from The Speech of the non-reflexive relation that exists between the Creator and what He created: </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That He sees all, and yet none can see Him. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That He comprehends all, and yet none can comprehend Him. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">But what al-Ashari misses is that the subject matter of the Speech is really about Man. And this is clear to any who reflects on it, it’s start and it’s end and most of what is in between it. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And that not all of speech is description. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">The higher order is a call to action. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That is why in our system of belief we know that knowledge without action is but solely ignorance. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That after our lives reality changes and our actions actually come to us in a physical form. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That when you do Hajj then it comes as a man to intercede for you at the approach of the punishment of the grave, that your recitation of the Quran becomes like a shade for you on Yawm al-Hisaab, where there are no other shades. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And that when the sun is but a mile high from the stretched plain of Arafat on which we will all be raised anew. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">So much so that a process, death itself, will be brought as a deer on that day and will itself be sacrificed. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">That the Quranic speech is primarily there as a call to action. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And those verses in which God talks about Himself are likewise such a call, and it is for us to explore the meanings of that call and attach ourselves to the best of those. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Each of our journeys are the sum of our choices and our actions that emanate from them. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And God’s speech is our guide, what better guide can there be?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And that is why we must try our best to emulate the Djinn when the Messenger (saw) said that they were better than us in relation to the recitation of Surah Rahmaan. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">We each need to make that Speech personal to us. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">For it is only then that that call to action becomes an imperative. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And then trust in the Most Gracious. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">For He is the Maula of those who believe. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">And what better Maula could you ask for?</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.8px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Knowledge is sought, through study, reflection and then engagement. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleEmphasizedBody; font-weight: bold;">Not logic, nor talks, nor this above. </span></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8157618601892175046.post-51307234490650814702022-11-06T16:06:00.001+00:002022-11-06T16:15:13.584+00:00Fathomless<p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><img id="id_762_29c_9a8f_b57f" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jGX9A7gmz9gFCgZ73XQueup6zjci7hW1R8_eLEkulC6lgNGVe2BWEZYLt5sPeaUQ_Iw" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br></span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A fathomless pit of gold awaits </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Those that age beyond their years </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Drear, it cowers you with hefty weight </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And upon a slight, all but disappears. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A cavernous pit of belly delights. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Those eyes that cannae satisfy</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Portends both sloth and slovenliness</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Whilst your grave is not so far, away. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The folly of youth will not avail </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Nor stay the ticking hands of age </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Where one day regret will friarly stand </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">And proudless memories you’ll wish away </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How flimsy is their house of cards </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Those who build them up with airs, and graces</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">No depth, nor happiness will they know </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">For their life is all a tell and show</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The greater struggle of power, and authority, </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Is to keep the small man forever in your sights. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To fulfil your remit, and limit your reach. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">To worry about befalling the four cases, mentioned afore. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All men are equal says the sage </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">But those for whom jealousies bite </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">They will not see the light of day </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">even when tameness appears to be their game </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Each of us, journeys must end </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All alone, at that last </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Are you a mureed,</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Where is your helper?”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“Did you stay true?”</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">“And true to who?”</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">We believe in Allah and His Messenger </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">His Speech the guide,</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The other our teacher. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All glory due to Him, above all else,</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All praise to Him, having no partner. </span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">END. </span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><font face="UICTFontTextStyleBody">Completed on a quick visit to my in-laws in Mombasa. Mombasa forever in my heart. </font></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal; min-height: 24.5px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br></p> Shafeesthoughtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026302498177188460noreply@blogger.com0